Refrigerator-car



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet l. C. S. HARDY. REPRIGERATR CAB..

No. 531,930. Patented Jan. l, 1895.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. G. S. HARDY. REFRIGERATOR GAR.

No. 531,930. Patented Jam. 1, 1895. F w

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UNrIED STATES PATENT union.

CHARLES S. HARDY, OF SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA.

REFRlGERATOR-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 531,930, dated January 1, 1895.

Application iilerl December 15, 1893. Serial No. 493,779. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. HARDY, residing at San Diego, in San Diego county, in the State of California, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Refrigerating Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My inventief is an improvement in that class of refrigerating and storing apparatus in which are employed folding ice boxes or receptacles and the present invention has for an object to furnish simple means to prevent shifting cargoes from closing in the Yfolding sections of the ice box and to so construct such means that they will operate to support the folding side section folded in position while the floor section is being raised.

The invention has for a further object to provide a novel construction of drain passage.

The invention has for further objects other improvements, and consists in certain novel constructions and combinations of parts as will be hereinafter desoribedand pointed out in the claims.

In the drawingsnFigure l is an interior perspective view of the opposite ends of a car provided with my improvements, parts being broken away and others shown' in section.v Fig. 2 is a similar view showing a somewhat dilerent construction.

In the figures the ice boxes at the left are shown closed or folded and those at the right open or unfolded.

In the construction shown in Fig. 1 and as preferred, the ice box is formed with the door or bottom A and the wall B, the latter being suitably hinged at its edge b so it may be turned up toward the roof of the car. The bottom A is formed with the cleats A', the covering A2 and the cross or edge bar C at its swinging end and is hinged to cleats D secu'red vertically upon the end of the car the hinge connection being preferably effected by the hinges shown having box like portions embracing the ends of cleats D and A. The cleats A alternate with and fold up between the end cleats of the car and the edge bar C tits above the ends of the cleats or sections D, the end cleats of the car being formed in' upper and lower sections D and D separated by an intervening cross space or recess D2 into which the edge bar C tits in the folded position of the bottom as will be understood from the position of parts shown at the left in Fig. l. The upper sections or cleats D hold the ice at the top of the receptacle away from the end of the car so air can freely circulate, serve to strengthen the car at such point and form a simple, convenient means of furnishing a support for the seats Ds for the bolts of the wall section.

In practice the licor or bottom may be lowered from the position shown at the left to that shown at the right in Fig. l and the side wall be -then turned down with its swinging edge rested closely upon and litted tightly to the edge of the floor section forming a snug joint. Vhen so opened or unfolded the side or door rest upon and are supported and sealed by side cleats E. To prevent the side and floor from being collapsed or pressed inward toward folded position by shifting of the freight or contents of the car I provide each box with locking devices preferably a bolt or bolts F held to the wall section and movable beyond the free edge thereof and alongside the edge of the door lapped under the side Wall as shown at the right in Fig. I. When so adjusted the bolt-s prevent the wall from being forced inward and the bearing of the bottom below the wall prevents such bottom from being forced upward as will be readily understood. In addition to their utility in preventing the closing in or collapsing ofthe box by external pressure the bolts serve to support the side Wall in the operation of closing the box. Thus in closing the box the side may be lifted and held elevated by engaging its bolts with the seats D3. This holds Vthe side Walls until the bottom can be turned upward to closed position and the hinges be adjusted to secure the side wall and floor in the closed position shown at the left.

The hinge shown has one strap G fixed to the bottom and its other strap G is arranged to lap against the outside of the wall B and in a keeper frame having perforated lugs g g', the said strap G being also perforated at g2. When the parts are as shown at the right 1 the connecting bolt G2 may be passed through the opening in the lugs g and the opening g2; while to hold the parte in the folded position shown at the left the opening g2 should be brought to register with lugs g and the bolt G2 ICO be then applied as shown at the left to hold the side wall and top in folded position, the hinge section operating as a brace between both box sections to secure them firmly in position.

At each end of the car I form drain lines II provided or communicating at their lower ends with troughs I from which the outlet pipes lead as shown. These drain dues communicate at their lower ends with the storage space of `the car and at their upper ends with the ice boxes and are provided between such points and preferably close to the lower opening J with a fender or drip guard having its edge 7e over which the drip passes next the end of the car and arranged to receive and break the fall of water from above so that its drop into the drain trough' will be short and will not have suflcient force to spatter upon the contents of the car. This drip guard is an important feature and in practice I prefer to incline it as shown and also to employ in connection with it an upper drip guard K arranged reversely to the guard k so it will discharge upon the upper side of the said guard k as will be readily understood from the drawings. By this arrangement of upper and lower guards I insure that all drippings from above the lower guard will strike upon said guard instead of passing alongside the free edge of such lower guard and avoid the possibility of any long drip into the bottom of the drain ilue and consequently any splashing onto the contents of the car. The upper portion L of the inner wall of the drain flue is hinged at its lower edge at l so it may fold outward as shown at the right in Fig. I or inward as shown at the left. This upper portion or wingL operates to dare the upper end of the fine when the parts are adjusted for use and forms a free outlet for the air and drippings from the ice box. This portion or wing L also forms an additional drip or spatter guard it being in use projected oppositely to the upper guard K and approximately parallel to the lower guard 7c. This wing L discharges its drip onto the lower guard K and being arranged at its lower end below the upper guard operates to receive any spatterings therefrom and is also so arranged that in case of any considerable flow from such upper guard it will acquire suicient impetus to iiow over and onto said hinged guard L as will be understood from the drawings. Vhen open as shown at the right in Fig. 1 the wing or section L is supported upon side cleats L andit is so connected with the folding side wallof the ice box that the movement of said wall opens and closes the drain flue wing, this being preferably eected by means of the connecting rods M jointed at one end rm, to the section or wing L and having a sliding connection at its other end with the wall of the ice box, such sliding connection being preferably effected by fitting such end ofthe rod to slide in a sleeve M secured upon the outer side of the wall A as shown. In practice it is preferred to use several of the connecting rods M to each wing usually one at each end and one at the middle as shown most clearly at the left inFig. 1. Then the ice box due wing, tbc., are folded as shown at the left in Fig. l there are provided openings at N between the upper edge of the wingL and the ice box flue permitting in connection with the lower outlet from the drain flue a through ventilation. This facilitates the drying out of the parts if they be .folded when wet.

In Fig. 2 the drain due is shown with its upper portion fixed instead of hinged as in Fig. 1 and the ice box tloor is hinged to the stud beams of the Hue instead of to the end cleats of the car, but the end drain flue feature and the manner of locking the ice box against collapsing by external pressure are substantially the same as shown in Fig. 1.

The ice box or receptacle in both of these constructions receives the main air from the central storage space of the car through top dues O opening at one end O to the car and discharging at O2 into the ice boxes as shown in 'both the figures.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. In an apparatus for refrigeration and storage, an ice box or receptacle having folding sections arranged and adapted to open outward to position for use and provided with locking devices whereby to prevent the collapsingor folding of the box by external pressure, substantially as set forth.

2. In an apparatus for refrigeration and storage, an ice box having a hinged floor and side Wall arranged to lap together when ad j usted to position for use and `a bolt or bolts held to one of said parts and movable alongside the other whereby to lock the box from being collapsed by external pressure, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In an apparatus for refrigeration and storage, the combination substantially as described of the folding ice box sections, the cleats against which said sections rest in the unfolded or open position thereof, and locking devices whereby to prevent the said box from being collapsed by external pressure, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination with the ice box door and the folding wall of a bolt or bolts held to said wall and adapted to secure the box when unfolded from collapsing and the car end wall having seats for said bolts whereby they may operate to support the wall section while the floor is being folded all substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. The combination of the car having its end provided with vertical cleats and having a recess extended from side to side above said cleats, the box wall and the box door hinged at one edge and having at its other edge a cross bar or beam fitting into the recess above the end cleats in the folded position of the said licor, substantially as set forth.

y 6. The combination of the car having at its end` upper and lower cleats separated by an ZOO- IIO

intervening recess and having the upper cleats provided with seats, .the box floor hinged at one edge and provided at its opposite edge with a cross beam arranged to fit into said recess in the folded position of the box door, and the box wall having bolts arranged to engage the seats of the upper end cleats when such Wall is folded and to lock the said wall to the door when the box is unfolded to position for use, substantially as set forth.

7. An apparatus substantially as described comprising the ice box or receptacle, an end drain fine communicating at its upper end therewith and having an outlet at its lower end, upper and lower reversely projected drip guards, and a hinged section arranged between said guards substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

S. In an apparatus substantially as described, a drain flue having a discharge opening at its bottom provided above the same with oppositely projected drip guards and having a hinged section the lower joint of which is arranged between said o'ppositely projected guards combined with a folding ice box and connecting devices by which to operate the hinged flue section when the box is folded, substantially as set forth.

9. In an apparatus for refrigeration and storage the combination of the folding ice box or receptacle the drain flue having a lower fixed and an upper hinged sectionl arranged to open and close and connections whereby said upper hinged section may be opened and closed as the ice box is unfolded and folded, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

10. In an apparatus substantially as described, the combination of the ice box having a hinged floor or bottom, the drain flue 4o having a hinged section, and a connecting rod jointed at one end to said flue section and having its other end held to and arranged to slide along the floor section, substantially as and for the kpurposes set forth.

ll. The combination substantially as described of the ice box having a hinged door and provided on the under side thereof near its hinged edge with guides arranged at right angles to said edge, the drain flue having a hinged section and rods jointed to said section and held and sliding in the guides upon the hinged door, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

12. The combination of the ice box having a hinged door or bottom the drain flue having a hinged wall connected with and positively operated by said door into both opened and folded positions an outlet opening being provided near the bottom of said flue and an opening being provided between the upper end of the flue and the floor section when the parts are folded, substantially as set forth.

13. An apparatus for refrigeration and storage substantially as described comprising a folding ice box, adrain line having a hinged section connected with and operated by the ice box, a drip guard opposite to said hinged section and arranged at its discharge edge above that of the hinged guard section and a drip guard arranged below said hinged section and in position to receive the drip therefrom all substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

CHAS. S. HARDY. Witnesses:

C. H. WESCOTT, F. S. BANKs. 

